Demons Don't Cry
by calicoToones
Summary: Wounded and desperate, Beast Boy must use all his abilities in a fight for his life against Raven's demon persona. It's also a bizarre romance between these two! Rated T for some violence. Special guest star: Slade [BBxRae]
1. It's A Trap

Before we begin:

1. The time frame is after 'Trouble in Tokyo'.

2. I don't own Teen Titans.

**It's A Trap**

"Just let me see it again," Beast Boy requested.

"No," Raven replied, with her arms folded.

A gust of wind blew across the barren, rocky landscape, making her cloak billow out behind her, and rustling the sagebrush. They stood on the limestone rocks before a deep crevice, the entrance to a network of caverns.

"Come on, Raven."

"No."

It was late afternoon, but quite dark since the sky was filled with rain clouds. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

"Because you know I'm right," Beast Boy said.

"Ok, fine," she grumbled. She closed her eyes and focused her concentration. Her body faded and in its place a large, black, magnificent bird appeared, its wings outstretched. Then it faded and Raven was herself again.

"Are you satisfied now?"

"Yes," he replied. "It's not a raven."

"It most certainly is!" she insisted. "I think I know a little bit about how I image my own spirit."

"And I think I know a little more than you about birds, and that is not a raven. I'd say it looks more like a crow or maybe a grackle."

"Great," she said, glaring at him. "I'm on this waste-of-time mission, hundreds of miles from home, and I'm stuck here with the president of the Audubon Society."

"The what society?"

"It's an environmental….Oh, forget it. Let's just get this over with." She stared down into the gaping crevice in the rock. "Slade's lair isn't even down here."

"Robin picked up a signal and traced it back to this general location," he reminded her.

"But he picked _several_ signals that Slade is in hiding out in a network of caverns miles south from here. That's why everyone else is searching there," she reminded him. "We are wasting our time. And these caverns can wind on forever."

"Well, if we don't go in and it turns out Slade left some evidence down here, do you want to explain to Robin why we didn't search here?"

"No," she grumbled.

Beast Boy started to climb down into the dark, mouth like opening. Thunder rumbled again and a few large drops of rain fell.

"Come on, Grackle."

"Somebody is going to get a good slap."

"I thought you were raised in a society that didn't believe in violence?" he teased.

"You are the poster child for an exception to that rule," she said dryly. "Wait a minute. I'll go down first."

"Why?"

"Because knowing **you**, you'll be staring up at my butt while I climb down."

"Ha! You wish! I have very high standards. Have you been working out? Meditating all day doesn't count as working out."

She wasn't listening. She started the climb down into the darkness. The air was moist and it smelled like generations of bats had lived in there. She soon realized floating down would be easier than climbing, so she did. Soon her feet touched the wet, rocky floor.

"Gross!" she muttered. In the dim light she could see a passageway stretching off into the distance. No sign of anyone.

Beast Boy nimbly climbed down and joined her. They produced their flashlights and shone them around. There was nothing but rock walls and water seeping through in some places. They started walking, with Beast Boy in the lead.

"I hope we don't get swarmed by bats," she murmured.

"I wouldn't worry so much about the bats," he told her. "I'd worry more about the cave spiders."

"Cave spiders?" she shuddered.

"What's wrong with cave spiders? They're all God's creatures."

"Fine. Maybe you can find a nice one as your girlfriend." She shook her head. "Certainly no human female would take you."

"You know, female spiders often eat the male after mating..."

"All the better," she deadpanned.

After a while they couldn't see the entrance any more, and it would have been pitch black without their flashlights. They could hear water dripping and some kind of grinding sounds. Hundreds of tiny claws scratching on the rocks?

"I really don't like this," Raven said, stopping.

"Come on. I can't believe Raven doesn't like a creepy place. If you get too scared in the dark, we can hold hands," he teased.

"Don't say silly things like that," she groaned. "It just makes me angry."

She did feel the familiar little twinge of anger rising inside her, but she knew it wasn't her real feeling, just a little kick from her demon heritage. She relaxed and let it pass. She noticed there was a swirl of other feelings that Beast Boy's comment had provoked. That was odd. It was just one of his stupid jokes…

In the moment while Raven was lost in self analysis, and Beast Boy was debating whether he should say his clever comeback, Slade struck.

Too late did they see his robotic henchmen step out from crevices in front of them with guns raised. Too late did Beast Boy try to push Raven out of the line of fire. Too late did Raven try to conjure a protective dark energy shield. There were several rapid orange flashes. They fell to the ground, unconscious.


	2. Altered States

**Altered States **

Raven awoke in some kind of a huge underground laboratory, carved out of the rock. Opening her eyes, she saw a maze of wide glass pipes hanging from the ceiling, and liquids of various bright colors flowing through them, some bubbling.

Vertical pipes came down on both sides of her, feeding the fluids into computerized machinery with gauges and blinking lights. The wall in front of her was covered floor to ceiling with computers and display screens.

She realized that she was strapped into something like a dentist's chair, unable to move her arms or legs and only partially turn her head. Metal cylinders pressed against her temples. The chair was inside a large sphere, but the sphere wasn't made of anything solid, instead it flickered as if it was made of light. Patterns swirled around on it. Some kind of a force field? She was in a cage? There was no one else anywhere to be seen.

"Hello, Raven. So nice to see you again."

She knew that gentle but still menacing voice.

"Slade!" she hissed. "Let me go! Now!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, child. You see, we're going to perform a little experiment".

She noticed there was an IV tube in her arm, and some kind of a drug was flowing in. She also noticed there were many types of sensors attached to her, and multiple high speed cameras all trained on her from outside the bubble. Some of the display screens were showing things like her heart rate and brainwave activity.

"What have you done with Beast Boy?" she demanded. "He'd better be all right!"

Slade walked around in front of her, where she could see him.

"Your concern for your young friend is touching, truly. But I believe you have more pressing matters to think about".

Raven summoned her energy and an aura of darkness appeared around her hands. But it seemed to quickly dissipate, being drawn into the bubble, which pulsated with colors. She tried to center her consciousness.

"Azarath…Metrion….Zinthos…"

The bonds holding her should have broken, but that didn't happen. Instead the hum of the machinery grew louder, and more lights blinked. The fluid in the tubes bubbled and flowed faster.

"The field draws its energy from you, my dear. The more you resist, the more energy it absorbs." Slade's voice was icily calm.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"You never cease to amaze me, Raven. I've been told you have the so-called psychiatric condition of multiple personalities. I'd like to meet one of them."

"I don't know where you get your information," she sneered. "But I do **not **have multiple personality disorder! I symbolically color coded certain emotions for insight. My own insight! You can't 'meet' them."

"How quaint," he said, no doubt smiling behind his mask. "But I'm not really interested in your color scheme. I'm interested in the power that comes from your demon aspect."

He walked over and checked the readings on a piece of equipment, and then began to pace back and forth like a professor lecturing a class of students.

"You see, I believe I know how to harness it for my own purposes. I just need to study you during the transformation, to see how you tap into the energy source. I built all this just for you, Raven," he said, gesturing to the huge room full of equipment.

She glared at him in disbelief.

"Oh yes," he continued. "I picked up a little knowledge in my time with your dear father. And now I want to see your demon side, the so-called 'Rage'."

"Are you crazy?" she snarled. "That will bring Trigon and destroy this world."

"I think not," he said confidently. "There is a little more to that than perhaps you realize."

"I'm not going to let you!"

"My dear child, you don't have any choice".

Slade activated some controls, and patterns of lines appeared on the inside of sphere. They were swirling, changing, drawing her attention, while rhythmic sounds filled her ears. He was trying to induce some kind of an altered state of consciousness. A form of involuntary hypnosis. Well, she wouldn't let him!

But she had been injected with the drug, and was feeling the effect. She couldn't focus. For some reason, she couldn't close her eyes and she couldn't ignore the patterns on the screen. The metal electrodes against her temples began to hum.

Slade spoke into a microphone and the voice seemed to be coming from inside her own head.

"Hatred shall consume you! Rage without end! A hunger that never dies. Release your wrath. Give in to your hate."

She tried to hold on, but Slade knew what he was doing.

"You can't control me," she murmured. "I know who I am. Azarath. Metrion…"

"Wrath! Hatred! Hatred is consuming you. Revenge! Burn with it! Feel the fire within you!"

"I know who I am," she whispered. "I know who I am!"

But her words were slurring. Her hold on reality began to smear, and then dripped away like a child's watercolor painting in the rain.

Raven's eyes began to glow yellow, then red. A phantom set of eyes opened in her forehead. The fluid was boiling now, as it raced through the tubes, and every light was brightly lit on Slade's computer console.

Just then there was an enormous crash. The huge steel door to the room came out of its moorings in the rock wall and fell inward. Slade turned to see a triceratops burst into the room.

Two of his robotic henchmen ran out from computer stations and tried to stop it, but the triceratops gored one and knocked the other down with the side of its armored head. Then it began rampaging around the laboratory, smashing equipment. Red alert alarms began flashing.

Slade realized the danger, and he ran over to a console to shut down certain key pieces of equipment. Then he grabbed a gun off the table to shoot the triceratops.

But it wasn't a triceratops any longer. Now Beast Boy was a stegosaurus, whipping his spiked tail to destroy things. He knocked Slade across the room before he could get a shot off. Sparks flew from damaged equipment and fires were starting. Something exploded in the corner.

The force field bubble containing Raven flickered and disappeared. Raven went into shock and lost consciousness.

The dinosaur morphed into a beast which broke the bonds holding her and gently extricated Raven from her confinement. The room was filling with smoke. Pipes burst and superheated fluid was starting to spill out. He picked her up and they ran from the room.

They were in the network of caves again, with no idea which way to go. There were several passageways, lit with portable lanterns hanging from the walls at intervals.

The sound of running footsteps meant guards were coming. The beast chose a passage at random and ran down it, holding the unconscious Raven carefully, so she wouldn't hit the jagged walls.

After a while, they reached the perimeter of Slade's lair. No more lights, and another branching of the cave into multiple passageways. The beast grabbed the last lantern off the wall and continued with Raven down one of the twisting passages.

After a while the passage got quite narrow and Beast Boy reverted to human form. With much difficulty, he squeezed her though until they got to a part where it opened up into a large cavern. They could rest here.

He held up the lantern to look around. The chamber was huge, like a church. Thousands of cone shaped stalactites hung from the ceiling, many dripping with water. Stalagmites rose from the floor as well, and in places where the ceiling was low, they met. There was a long pool of shallow water in the center of the cavern.

He carried Raven over to a flat spot on the edge of the pool and laid her down gently.

She groaned softly, as if she was coming around.

"Raven, are you all right? Raven? Raven?"

"Raven is not here." The voice was slurred, but didn't sound like Raven. It was much deeper.

"Come on Raven. Wake up." He cupped his hand to scoop up some of the cold, clear water and he splashed a little of it on her face.

"Raven can't wake up, Beast Boy."

This can't be good, he thought.

"Come on, Raven. You're just having a bad dream, that's all."

Her eyes flickered to open, and he saw the glowing red color. With growing horror, he knew what it meant.

"Raven has gone away, Beast Boy," she said.

"No, you're still Raven! Wake up, Raven!" he said desperately.

All four eyes were open now, with the red glow pouring out. She sat up and glared at him.

"Beast…Boy!" she said his name with a harsh sneer. "I know you!"

She reached out her hand and closed it around his throat.

**Next chapter: 3. Primal Rage vs. Animal Instinct**


	3. Primal Rage vs Animal Instinct

**3. Primal Rage vs. Animal Instinct**

"Sweet little Beast Boy!" she said with her hand on his throat. "I know you. I **hate** you. Everything is so easy for you, isn't it? Life is just joy and laughter."

Stunned for a moment, Beast Boy quickly realized the gravity of the situation.

"You think you're better than me, don't you?" she snarled. "Well, I'll show you"

Her hand closed around his throat, and she meant business. He tried to pull it off with both hands, but couldn't. How could Raven be this strong?

"What do you know about pain? My pain? My pain! I'll make you suffer."

Her grip was suffocating him. He broke free as a large gorilla, but gashed his head on a stalactite and stumbled backward, falling into the shallow pool of water with a splash.

Rage stood up now, summoning her strength. "I will kill you all. Make you suffer."

He became a small fish and swam to the furthest point of the pool where he reverted to his true form and ducked behind a cluster of stalagmites.

"Raven, what are you doing? It's me, your friend!"

"I'm not Raven!"

"Yes you are! Maybe you're the demon part of her personality, but you're still Raven!" he pleaded.

She directed her thoughts upward and a black aura enveloped a big stalactite. It broke off with a crack and then she propelled it with great force at his location. He ducked further behind the rock formations. The projectile smashes into the rocks, covering him with shards.

"Please, Raven! Stop!" She wasn't fooling around. She was really trying to kill him.

_This can't be happening_! he thought.

In first couple years of knowing Raven, he had been a little afraid of her, in the back of his mind. But as he, and the rest of the team, had gotten to know her better, it became apparent that she would never hurt anyone. She didn't even want to use excessive force again bad guys! That had emboldened him a bit in teasing her, although she could defend herself pretty well with cutting remarks and sarcasm, and maybe remotely giving him the occasional wedgie.

For an instant, his mind flashed back to the one time she had really hit him, a time they never talked about. He had been teasing her, and had crossed the line on a sensitive subject. Too late did he realize how sensitive. She just looked at him and he could see the hurt in her eyes and the glistening of tears. Using her power, she picked him up and threw him backwards into the wall, hard. Even then, she'd asked, "Are you OK?" before storming out of the room. The look in her eyes had hurt more than the bruises.

But now, that Raven was gone. And the demon wasn't flashing back to times in the past.

She was now breaking off clusters of stalactites and making them spin before hurling them across the cave at him. In a deafening crash, delicate structures, formed by dripping water over millions of years, were obliterated.

He jumped between rock formations for better cover, and took a direct hit as one struck his knee and made him fall. He scrambled the rest of the way behind the bigger formation.

"I don't want to fight you!" he cried. "Please, let's just stop and talk for a minute. Slade is our enemy. We need to get out of here before he finds us."

But demons aren't much for listening to reason. "I hate you!" she shrieked. "Because you hate me. All of you hate me."

"No, Raven. I'm you're friend. I want to help you!"

"Liar!"

Her dark energy ripped loose a boulder and hurled it at the location where his voice was coming from. It shattered calcite columns like a bowling ball smashing through the pins. Beast Boy mostly got out of the way in time, but the pain stinging his back told him he wasn't quite fast enough.

Desperately, he tried to think how to escape. He could go back the way they came, or he could hope to find another exit. The water had to get out of here somehow, and it was flowing toward the far end of the cave.

It was too dark to see what was over there, but a bat wouldn't have any trouble. He transformed and echo-located his way around the rock formations, flying erratically so she couldn't zero in on him.

Rage couldn't see him in the dark, but she was cunning. She anticipated his plan. The bat detected rumbling in the ceiling above the far end of the cavern and veered off. Soon the roof of the cave collapsed in that area, sealing it off.

He transformed back to human. "Raven! You're going to kill us both!"

Using so much energy had exhausted her and she collapsed to her knees to rest. Beast Boy rested for just a moment and then returned to bat form and made for the way they had came in. He almost made it, but she made that narrow passageway collapse too.

The bat could detect no other exit. He made it to the safest spot he could find, across the pool of water from her and settled in. As Beast Boy, he crawled into a crevice for better protection.

What could he do? He desperately tried to think, and hold down his sense of panic. The pain was becoming unbearable, and any animal form would still have a certain degree of damage. Raven was weakened at the moment, but who knew how long that would last? He might be able to find another way out, or slip through the rubble if he had the time, but he couldn't do that with her attacking. He would be too vulnerable.

He could try to disable her. He could charge her as a large animal, but he would be exposed. He could try to knock her unconscious, but if he failed, he'd be an easy target.

The demon stood up again. She had a new idea and she liked it. She howled with joyous rage.

Long jets of black energy shot from her outstretched hands, and then became flame. She blasted away in the darkness in his general direction until she needed to pause to rest and build up her energy again. Small fires burned in among the rocks. Steam hissed where dripping water met the hot rock.

"You hate me! I know you hate me. Just like all the others! I'll kill you all. I'll make you suffer."

Beast Boy jammed himself as far as he could into a crevice. The pain was now unbearable, but he had to grit his teeth to not scream. He knew he needed medical attention, and fast. She had sealed the exits, he was trapped. So was she, but she only seemed to care about killing him. It wouldn't be long before she discovered his hiding place.

Panic and fear overwhelmed him. He was a wounded animal, cornered and in pain. Animal instinct took over. The strongest instinct was self preservation. Fear mixed with anger and surging adrenaline.

Attack. Take her down. Kill her before she kills you.

_Kill Raven_.

When she paused her ranting and flame throwing to rest a moment, he struck. As a roach, he silently slipped out of the rocks and part of the way to what was left of the pool of water. As a tiny insect he zigzagged and invisibly crossed the remaining distance to her.

Soon Rage sensed something. Her empathic abilities could only read loud emotions, but she got a brief flash of his anger, pain, and his murderous intent.

And she felt he was close, but where? A Philippine cobra dropping from the ceiling? A velociraptor appearing behind her to rip into her neck? Frantically, she looked around and shot energy bolts at random.

But no, Beast Boy wasn't behind her. He was already on her. A tiny spider stood right over a blood vessel leading directly to her heart. An evolutionary freak, this one had disproportionately long fangs and venom so toxic it would cause instantaneous paralysis.

She wouldn't even feel the bite, but less than a second later she would feel the agony of her heart stopping and her nervous system becoming paralyzed. No time to do anything, or even understand what had happened. She had no chance.

The fangs glistened as they prepared to strike. The venom sac swelled. Goodbye, Raven.

.

He couldn't do it. _Strike now, you fool_! his mind said. But he couldn't do it. His humanity overruled his instincts. He couldn't kill Raven. No matter what she had become.

He zipped back across the cave to his hiding place and returned to human form, exhausted. He had failed, and now he was going to die. A small moan of anguish and pain escaped from him.

Rage got a vague sense that the danger to herself had passed, and she heard a noise from Beast Boy's location. A black claw began to pull away rocks until she spotted part of his purple uniform.

"Raven, please," he called weakly. "I don't hate you. I saved you from Slade, remember? Just now I had you, I could have killed you but I didn't… **I didn't**."

"Why not? Because you're foolish and weak just like Raven?" She pulled away another rock, exposing more of him.

"No," he said, struggling to stand up. "Because I care about you. I don't want to hurt you… I can't."

There was a brief pause. "I love you, Raven."

"I'm not Raven," she growled, but, for the moment, wasn't blasting him. The red glow in her eyes dimmed.

"You're a part of her. That means I love you too."

No response, so he continued, "Look, what good would killing me do? How will you feel then? You'll just be alone down here. Let's work together and find a way out."

"I don't need you. I don't need anyone. Kill you all."

"OK." He stood completely out in the open. "OK. If that's what you want, then do it. I can't run, and I won't kill you. I love you, Raven. I guess I've always loved you."

But then her eyes began to burn bright again.

"Love?" she sneered incredulously. The black aura developed around her hands. "No... Such…Thing." Then, howling with delight, she directed all her energy at him.

He tried to move. He tried to transform. But it was too late. The bolt was a direct hit, and he flew backward to the ground. She howled again, and then went into a fit of laughter.

…

Beast Boy lay still on the rocky floor.

"Get up. Get up so I can hit you again," she commanded, no longer laughing.

His body lay still.

Nothing but silence.

"I hate you," she said, but without the conviction that had been in her voice earlier.

His broken body lay still. She couldn't sense any emotions.

She splashed through what little water remained in the pool and stood over him.

"You're not dead," she tried to proclaim, but it was hard to make words. His silent body wasn't breathing. What had she done?

Well, it was stupid of him to come out from hiding. He had gotten what he deserved for being stupid. He always had been stupid. He was the only one that was stupid enough…

_Stupid enough to try to love her._

A drop of water ran down her cheek from her eye. She wiped it away, puzzled. But now feelings were rising inside of her. Horror was rising. So was dread and regret. A sick feeling churned in her stomach. What had she done?

She dropped to her knees and touched his neck. There was no pulse. Now tears were running down both her cheeks. What did it mean? Demons don't cry.

"No," she said croaked. Using all her ability, she empathically scanned his body. She sensed no heartbeat, but there were massive internal injuries, and no oxygen getting to his brain.

"No!" she screamed, now filling with panic. "I…can't…lose…you. I can't lose you!"

_I could absorb his injuries_, she thought. _I could try to heal him_. Brain death was setting in. Soon nothing could revive him.

_No, it's too massive. I don't have that kind of power. It will probably kill me too_.

_Absorb his injuries now! __**Now**__! There is no time_, something screamed inside her.

It would take everything, everything she had. She probably wouldn't survive. Then so be it.

So be it.

She took a hold of him and everything faded to black.

**[Don't worry, Chapter 4: Sunlight is coming soon]**

**In the meantime, Robin, Starfire and Cyborg are searching very hard to find them**.


	4. Sunlight

**4. Sunlight**

An unknown amount of time had passed. In the light of one small flickering fire, Rage was sitting on the cave floor, holding Beast Boy in her lap. His clothing was torn, but his body appeared whole again.

Rage looked haggard, her hair matted and dirty. She was rocking back and forth and mumbling the same thing over and over again, as a mentally ill person might.

"…Kill you all. Make you suffer…Kill you all. Make you suffer…"

Evidently, she didn't have a large vocabulary. But her words didn't match her actions. What she was doing was holding Beast Boy's head in her lap, absent mindedly stroking his hair.

He opened his eyes.

"I didn't kill you," she said.

Alarmed at where he was, he quickly scooted back from her and sat up. She didn't make any threatening moves. In fact, she barely moved at all. Something was wrong with her?

"Um…Thank you," was his cautious reply.

"I wanted to, but I…" she paused to gather her breath. "I couldn't."

Beast Boy studied her in the flickering fire light. She seemed very weak, and not in good health. Her breathing was loud, as if she was having trouble getting enough air. Her two sets of eyes still glowed red, but the facial expression was somehow softer, as if she was missing her earlier anger.

He glanced around at the charred and blackened cave. "I like what you've done with the place. Made it more like home?"

She only grunted.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm thirsty," she said after a long pause.

Beast Boy saw that the pool had mostly refilled by now, and the water was clear again, the sediment having settled to the bottom. He looked around for something to carry water with. To the side of her was the lantern that he had brought in with them.

He got up and walked over to it. It had been smashed during the battle, but he found a piece of metal that he could bend into something like a cup. After doing so, he scooped up some of the water and brought it to her.

Kneeling beside her, he put the cup to her lips and she drank it all. He filled the cup again and brought it to her.

"I don't have any power left," she said, coughing. "I'm not going to make it."

"Don't say that," he said as she drank the water. "I'm not going to let that happen."

Tearing off a piece of his already torn shirt, Beast Boy soaked up some water from the pool and gently rubbed her forehead and cheeks, cooling her down and wiping off some of the grime.

He heard grinding and rumbling sounds in the rock above the cavern. Maybe the whole chamber was finally going to cave in.

"I only know how to destroy things," she said with a certain sadness in her voice.

"Maybe," he replied. "Or maybe there is more to you than that."

The rumbling was growing louder, and seemed to be coming from the opposite side of the cavern.

"Can I talk to Raven?" he asked her.

"Raven is so annoying," she grumbled.

"Tell me about it," he deadpanned. "But still, I'd like to talk to her."

"What if I never see you again?"

"You'll see me again, but as part of Raven. You're so tired. Rest now, and let Raven come back."

"Did you mean what you said earlier…about how you felt about me?"

He clasped one of her hands in his.

"Yes."

"When I'm strong again, I'll probably go back to hating you," she warned.

"We'll see," he said with a smile.

The two sets of red eyes closed, and the ones in her forehead faded away. In a few moments, Raven's real eyes opened, back to their normal color.

"What happened? Where am I?"

"It's OK. I'm right here. Do you remember anything?"

"No."

She stared at him, slowing becoming aware of the world around her. She was talking to Beast Boy. **Beast Boy**! For no reason, there was this overwhelming rush of happiness to see him. She had no idea why, just a vague feeling of a tragedy having narrowly been averted.

The rumbling sound had become very loud, and they could tell it was the sound of metal grinding against rock. The ceiling on the other side of the cavern was pierced, and a conical drilling machine broke through the ceiling in a shower of dust and rocks.

As it descended further, they could see electric lights coming out the windows of an operator's compartment. Inside was Cyborg!

Search lights beamed around the cavern until he spotted them. Then he cut off the motor and kicked the door open so he could jump out.

Beast Boy and Raven shielded their eyes from the sudden glare. Cyborg jumped the 20 feet or so to the ground, carrying a medical kit.

He was covered in dirt and his metal parts, especially his hands, were scratched up, as if he had been clawing his way through the rocks without tools at some points as he desperately searched for his friends.

"I found them! They're alive!" he shouted into his communicator, and then ran over.

"Beast Boy! Are you OK? Raven?"

Beast Boy stood up as he approached. "We're OK. We're sure glad to see you!"

Raven smiled, but was too weak to stand. Cyborg knelt next to her and checked her condition with a medical scanner.

The drilling machine was lowered to the floor on a cable, exposing a vertical shaft. Soon Robin entered by sliding down the cable, followed by a flying Starfire.

Both were covered in grime from digging, and had their clothing torn, but both were grinning from ear to ear. They ran over to the group. Starfire immediately hugged Beast Boy and then knelt and hugged Raven.

"She needs to get to a hospital," Cyborg reported. "Her vital signs are very weak."

"She's going to make it, right?" Beast Boy said.

"She'll make it, but we've got to go now."

"Star," Robin said, "fly back up and lower the basket."

She did so immediately, disappearing up the shaft.

Robin and Cyborg helped Raven to stand.

"We found Slade," Beast Boy mentioned.

"We found him too," Cyborg added. "After you trashed his lab, we caught him in the wreckage."

"You caught Slade?"

"Had to let him go, though," Robin said.

"What?" Beast Boy almost shouted. "Why?"

"He made a deal with us. We let him go, and he gave us the approximate co-ordinates of where you two must be."

"That had to be a tough choice," Beast Boy said.

"Not really," Robin replied, patting his friend on the shoulder.

A cylindrical metal basket, big enough for two people to stand in, was lowered down the shaft. They all walked over to it, with Raven being assisted by Beast Boy and Cyborg. About half way, she stumbled and so Beast Boy picked her up to carry her, with some help from the others.

They were the first two into the basket, and Starfire operated the winch to hoist them up.

"So you really don't remember what happened?" Beast Boy asked, still carrying her as they were being hauled up the shaft.

"I don't remember anything."

"That figures," he muttered to himself.

He continued, "Well, we had quite a party down here together, you and me. Now we both have a hangover."

"Don't say silly things, Beast Boy. You know that only makes me angry"

"You're not so bad when you're angry. Maybe even a little cute."

Raven closed her eyes. _What the hell was he talking about_? But, unexpectedly, there was not the twinge of rage trying to form inside her, only the strange euphoria and relief about something…it was so odd.

_Oh, who cares_? she thought. She was so tired and not in the mood to try to figure anything out. She rested her head against Beast Boy's shoulder and fell asleep as they emerged into the sunlight.


End file.
